Combined compact and flashlight



Nov 23,1 948- M; A. TIASCQHQEREAU" COMBINED COMPACT AND FLASHLIGHT Filed May '14, 1947- Y y 1 'Z-Sheets-Sh Qt 1 I Inventor Marc Aurele Taschereau M; A. TASCHEREAU.

COMBINED CQMPACI' AND FLASHLIGHT Nov. 23, 1948.

2 Sheets -Shee t 2 Filed May 14, 1947 Fig. 3;

. w t 4 0. I W E v F m a i m x 1 1/ 1 I 1 S Q m 0 m 3 m w H J m I u I I A I I C U f U H \lll l G I Q r M 1 1 6 I 1 m M 4 4 H I i v 8 I H 5 2 n 6 I I 2 I 4 655 I I 5 0 n U 5 U U Q U U H I H w w m I 1 H W H 2 H 3 1 I Patented Nov. 23, 1948 COMBINED COMPACT AND FLASHLIGHT Marc Aurele Taschereau, Port Alice, British Columbia, Canada Application May 14, 1947, Serial No. 747,902

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates generally to compacts or ladies vanity cases, and more particularly to a device of this character comprising a casing having hinged upper and lower sections with a mirror in the upper section and cosmetic containers in the lower section and an electric lamp arranged in the lower section in a novel manner to reflect light upwardly and outwardly onto the face of the user and not onto the mirror.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a combined compact and flashlight adapted to function as a flashlight when the compact is closed, as well as when the compact is opened.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of this character which can be used unobtrusively and effectively, the lighting being limited to a predetermined area by reason of the disposition of the reflectors and deflector arranged adjacent the lamp.

Another object of this invention is to completely utilize the light afforded by the lamp, thus economizing on the use of the electric battery and making it possible to use smaller cells over a longer period.

It is another object of this invention to so design this compact that cells of standard construction may be used therewith, thus making the compact more adaptable for general use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel construction, whereby the battery is readily insertible and removable, the cells of the battery being held in place by a novel cover plate, which may have incorporated therewith the reflectors mentioned above.

And it is a last object to provide a device of this character which is inexpensive and practicable to manufacture, simple and convenient to use, and which will give generally efficient and durable service.

With these and other objects in view, this invention resides in'certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions as will :be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the compact when closed;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of this compact when the upper section is opened upwardly, as when the compact is to be used;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 33 in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the lower section of the compact, taken on the line 5-4 in Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail view of the fore part of the lower section and a portion of the upper section, the figure being a vertical sectional View taken on the line 5-5 in Figure 3.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical parts and portions throughout the specification and throughout the several views of the drawings,

Referring now to the drawings in detail, which drawing represents only one preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be noted that the compact comprises two main sections, hereinafter designated the lower section Ill and the upper section l2. In the drawings, there has been represented a, rectangular compact, each of the sections Ill and I2 being likewise rectangular and comprising shallow boxes with rounded corners and pivotally secured together by a hinge l4 disposed along one end of the compact. Normally the lower section ill will be of considerably greater depth than the upper section l2 and a spring catch l6, provided with a finger press button 13 adapted to project outside the forward end of the upper section I2, will be used to fasten the forward ends of the two sections together retaining the compact in closed position, all according to substantially standard methods of construction of articles of this character.

The upper section 42 has a mirror 20 rigidly secured therein as by a bracket member IS, the mirror being shorter than the section l2 to provide a space between one end of the mirror and the unhinged end of the section 12. This construction allows the mounting of a lens 2'! of any suitable character, by such means as a bezel 22 and an annulus 23, on this end of the member [2. An electric lamp 24 is operatively secured in the corresponding portion of the lower section l0, thus allowing the lamp to be used when the compact is closed.

The lamp socket mounting 26 is secured to the fore part of the lower section in as 'by small rivets 28 and the lamp 24 will normally be of the screw-in type as illustrated in the drawings. A pair of dry cells 30 and 32, which may be of standard small cylindrical type are mounted laterally of the lower section l0 and at the forward end of the same, between fixed contacts 34 and 36 on the forward end of the lower section l0, these contacts being insulated from the said section and connected by a conductor 38 which may be simply an insulated wire, the other end of the cell 32 being frictionally engaged by a fixed spring contact 40. This spring contact 40 is secured to a metal bracket 42 which is generally U-shaped and functions as a cover plate and retainer for both cells 30 and 32, as well as constituting a covering for the electric circuit wires through the cells, lamp and switch 44. This cover plate is also formed to provide reflector surfaces 46, 48 and 50, to reflect the light of the lamp upwardly and forwardly onto the face of the user of the compact. The shape of this member 42 will be best understood if reference is had to Figure 2 wherein the member is shown in operative position covering the cells 30 and 32 and providing the reflector surfaces adjacent the lamp 24. In this connection it should be carefully noted that the surface designated at 5! and comprising the inner side of the forward end of the lower section II] is non-reflective in character and may be made light absorbing in any suitable manner such as by coating the same with light absorbing material. The switch 44 may be of any suitable character, the drawings representing a sliding type with the finger control located outside the lower section In and with the actuating pin 52 adapted to engage the spring contact 54 which is secured to the U-shaped cover plate 42 and to press this spring contact 54 into electrical contact with the terminal 56 of the cell 30, when it is desired to close the circuit and light the lamp 24.

An important feature of this invention is the deflector 58 which comprises a vertically disposed depressible plate slidably secured to the side of the U-shaped member 42 adjacent the lamp 24. This plate deflector is spring mounted as by a spring 69 to normally extend above the level of the top of the section and to intercept and deflect the light from the lamp 24 so that the mirror 20 receives no light directly from the lamp. The plate 58 may be slidably mounted in a bracket 62 to allow vertical movement of the deflector plate, a right angular flange 54 being provided on the lower end of the plate deflector to engage a portion of the bracket 62 when the deflector plate is fully elevated, and the upper edge of the plate deflector may be equipped with a layer of deformable material such as rubber or felt to prevent scratching of the surface of the mirror 20 when the upper section I2 is depressed onto said plate forcing the same downward against the action of the spring 60, during the closing of the compact. This deformable material is represented at 56 and may be secured to the deflector plate in any suitable manner, as by the formation of a simple longitudinal slot in the deformable material when the same is rubber or like substance. When the deformable material is felt it will normally be secured to the upper edge of the deflector plate 58 by adhesives.

Containers for cosmetics such as face powder and rouge are represented at 68 and 10 and these containers may be of detachable character, while other containers 12 and 14 are provided laterally of the container 70, these containers 12 and 14 being normally used for such cosmetics as lipstick, eyebrow make-up and the like.

Many and various useful modifications may be made in this invention such as the exact constructional detail of the various parts and the proportioning of the same, all within the scope and spirit of this invention and though there has been shown a particular embodiment of this invention other means may be used to accomplish the essential ends sought to be achieved thereby, namely, the objects recited above and which will now be more clearly understood in the light of the foregoing description of the mechanical details of this invention. In recapitulation, the prime object of this invention is to control the light reflected from the lamp 24 by means of the non-reflecting surface 5|, the deflector plate 58 and the reflector obliquely disposed surfaces 46, 48 and 50, whereby the face of the user may be illuminated and the light conserved and fully utilized in an unobtrusive manner, that is, without annoyance to others close to the user, as for example when this device is used in a darkened theater. The other features of this invention whereby the device is made generally efficient and attractive are thought to be equally important, and it is desired to include in the scope of this invention the construction, combination and arrangement of parts and portions substantially as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus described this invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A compact comprising a casing having hinged upper and lower sections, a mirror in the upper section, cosmetic containers in the lower section, an electric battery with an electric lamp and a switch connected in series in said lower section, means to reflect light upwardly and outwardly from said lamp, said lamp being disposed at the end of said lower section remote from the hinge connecting the sections, and said means comprising three obliquely disposed plane reflecting surface members, one on either side of the lamp and one disposed toward said hinge, and a deflector plate on said lower section between said lam and the hinge to prevent reflection onto said mirror, said plate being slidably mounted for vertical movement when the lower section is in horizontal position, said plate having a layer of deformable material on its upper edge, and said plate being spring biased upwardly and depressible by the upper section when the compact is closed.

MARC AURELE TASCHEREAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,321,026 Freed et al Nov. 4, 1919 1,875,650 Pemberton et al. Sept. 6, 1932 2,021,015 Muller Nov. 12, 1935 2,070,857 Davis Feb. 16, 1937 2,159,934 Preisz May 23, 1939 2,255,312 Dawson Sept. 9, 1941 2,392,516 Aronek Jan. 8, 1946 

